1070 



THE PRACTICAL GARDENER. 



{Sept. 



a too damp state at this season would be disadvantageous to 

 them. It will now be sufficient, if these plants be watered at 

 this time individually, and not generally, as hitherto, and 

 then only when the surface round their roots appears to be 

 really dry. 



REMOVING GREEN-HOUSE PLANTS INTO THE HOUSE. 



Towards the middle of this month, many of the more deli- 

 cate plants will require to be taken into the house, and towards 

 the end, many that are of a hardier nature. This is a process 

 in gardening, like many others, for which no precise rules 

 can be laid down that can be of general application. The 

 season, whether mild or cold, the situation in reference to the 

 exact exposure or the latitude of the place, are all circum- 

 stances to be taken into consideration, and must always be 

 left to the good sense of the cultivator. It is always better, 

 however, to have them taken in too soon than left out too 

 long. In the first case, they can be set thin, and abun- 

 dantly ventilated; but in the latter case, if left out to be 

 nipped by the fi-ost, or the roots cliilled with cold and wet, 

 many of them will to a certainty perish, and all will be in- 

 jured in a greater or less degree. As a general rule, all 

 succulent plants should be taken in first, as being more liable 

 to be soon injured by both frost and damp ; next in order 

 (we speak generally) the natural order Geraniacce, and all 

 similar soft-wooded plants. The hard-wooded plants of New 

 Holland, and the Ericas from the Cape, may be the last to 

 be removed to their winter abode. When the process of 

 taking them in commences, the plants should be individually 

 examined ; all that require it, should be supported in a proper 

 manner, and all superfluous or ill-placed branches taken off, as 

 well as all dead leaves and twigs ; the pots should be thoroughly 

 cleaned, washed, if necessary, and the surface of the mould in 

 the pots stirred up, if at all hard. When they are all thus 

 prepared, they should be then carried into the green-house, 

 and as yet set very thinly on the stages, so that they may 

 not shade each other, nor impede the free circulation of air. 

 For a few days after their removal into the house, they should 

 be regularly looked over, and watered once, or if necessary, 



